A federal jury on Friday convicted two San Bernardino County residents of running a years-long birth tourism operation in Southern California that allowed Chinese women to enter the United States for the express purpose of giving birth in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children.
Authorities say Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong, both of Rancho Cucamonga, operated their scheme from at least 2012 to 2015.
For tens of thousands of dollars, Liu, 59, and Dong, 47, advised their clients on how to obtain visas, navigate customs and hide their pregnancies from immigration officials, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release.
Once in the United States, the women were given temporary housing in Southern California and help applying for legal documents for their newborns, authorities said.
In a press release, the Justice Department said the women typically returned to China within a month or two after giving birth and that Liu and Dong “knew — or deliberately avoided learning — that their clients had lied on their visa applications to immigration authorities to enter the United States.”
Among the alleged false claims made by pregnant Chinese citizens was that their trip was for tourism purposes and would last only a few days or weeks.
Liu and Dong’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 9. They face up to two decades in prison for conspiracy and international money laundering.
